Baguio takes lead in waste segregation

He will take it against the concerned department heads once unsegregated garbage gets to the city’s MRF.

BAGUIO City — City government officials will lead the compliance to solid waste management and collection policies to convince the people of this city the seriousness of the campaign on the proper segregation of waste.

Mayor Benjamin Magalong directed all departments of the city government to properly segregate their garbage before being collected by the roving trucks and brought to the city’s Materials Recovery Facility (MRF).

He said he will take it against the concerned department heads once unsegregated garbage gets to the city’s MRF as the city government has to lead by example in the proper disposal of garbage, especially the segregation of waste at source, so that local officials and employees could convince residents in the city’s 128 barangays to comply with the standing policy.

Magalong said he had been receiving reports that there are unsegregated wastes coming from the different offices of the city government, adding that these are being dumped in the city’s MRF, which runs contrary to the policies on waste disposal the government is imposing to the citizens.

Under the Republic Act 9003 or the Ecological Solid Waste Management Act of 2000, households are told to segregate their waste in their residences to ensure only segregated garbage is brought out and dumped in the identified pick-up points in the barangays, thus, the obligation to properly dispose garbage lies with the residents and not solely lodged with the government.

The city government has time and again reminded barangay residents to ensure the garbage they bring to their identified pick-up points are segregated to avoid unsegregated garbage from being returned to them by supervising barangay officials.

Magalong stressed that the people will be compelled in complying when they see that the government officials have the moral ascendancy as they follow the law they are pushing.